Mionix seeks backers for mouse with heart rate, skin sensors

Smartwatches fitted with various biometric sensors are all the rage lately. Now, gaming peripheral maker Mionix Labs wants to implement the same technology in a gaming mouse—and it's launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project.

The NAOS Quantified Gaming mouse is already up and running in prototype form, and it's able to track "heart rate, galvanic skin response and actions per minute." Readings can be displayed in an on-screen overlay, and they can also be recorded and shared with other players. On top of that, Mionix wants to open up its APIs to third-party developers. "We invite all game developers and hackers to incorporate QG data into their games or applications," the company says.

Through Kickstarter, Mionix hopes to secure the $100,000 needed to "order production tooling, moulds and electronics from the lined up suppliers, obtain the necessary global certifications and to launch the production." The project has already received just over $10,000 in pledges, with 39 days yet to go. If all goes well, mass production of the NAOS Quantified gaming mouse is slated to start in June or July.

I'm not sure I necessarily see the point of tracking heart rate, skin response, and the like in an e-sports context, except maybe as a novelty feature. Making games themselves aware of biometric readings could open up some new gameplay possibilities, though, if developers play ball—and if the funding drive succeeds.